Blog Post #8: Hover Boards and the PLC

I want a hover board. I want a hover board really, really badly. I mean, how cool would that be? I am not much of a skateboarding fan, but floating skateboards could be a true game changer for me. Okay, I understand that you may be a little confused about why I am talking about hover boards, but if you are then you may not have seen this viral video (also seen below) advertising the all new HUVr board.

It has recently been revealed that HUVr is a hoax, which I kind of figured but quietly hoped that it was not. It was certainly too good to be true. Before getting to my reason for bringing up the HUVr board, though, I want to say that it is quite impressive that these people got celebrities like Tony Hawk, Terrell Owens, and Moby to make a pitch for their fake hover board. It is a genius way to get people to believe almost anything (if the celebrity is relevant and has credibility, which I am not sure if Owens or Moby have, but that is beside the point).

What I want to do with this post is to introduce the concept of the product life cycle (PLC) and hypothetically use the HUVr board as an example to guide you through it. The product life cycle is just that; it is the course that a product takes through its life. It is the profits and the losses, the good and the bad. There are five stages to the PLC I am going to take the HUVr board as if it was real and guide you through each step of the PLC process. There are five stages of the PLC and they are: product development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Check out the graphic below for a better understanding of the PLC.

Click to Enlarge: Characteristics of PLC stages

Product Development Stage of HUVr

Product development is the first stage of the product life cycle. During this stage the company does not make sales because the product has not been made yet. Due to this, this stage can be quite costly because things like research and development generally pile up expenses. For the HUVr board, this probably would add up very quickly because of the technology research that would need to be conducted. HUVr would likely have a lot of scientists answering questions for them and refining their hover technology.

Introduction Stage of HUVr

Introduction is the stage of the product life cycle where the product has already been completed and is first being put into the marketplace. In this stage companies do not usually have high sales and companies are generally spending large amounts of money on promotion. In the case of the HUVr board, this is where the product would be at if it was actually real. The video showed a completed hover board that most people did not know about yet. People would be largely skeptical (as I was) and only innovators would likely buy in at this point. It is easy to get frustrated during this stage due to the lack of profit, but it is important to stay consistent with the established strategies because it is normal for a new product to grow slowly. You do not want to sacrifice long-term success for short-term success because you got too antsy.

Growth Stage of HUVr

The growth stage of the PLC is characterized by consumer satisfaction with the introduced product. People begin to learn more and more about the product and they buy in, causing profits to rise (possibly quickly rise, too). Oftentimes this causes competitors to enter the market because they see potential for profit. In the case of the HUVr board, it is likely that it would take quite some time for competitors to acquire the technical skills and knowledge to develop a fully-fledged hover board, unless they had already been developing one. HUVr would want to keep their promotional expenses at around the same level because they want the buzz about their product to keep going. At this stage it may be feasible for HUVr to improve their board and possibly create some new models so as to attract new customers and keep current ones interested. HUVr may even want to consider entering new market segments.

Maturity Stage of HUVr

The maturity stage is when companies generally begin to face challenges. Although profits are usually the highest in this stage, this is when consumers can begin to become bored with the product and look for something new. I do not see how this could happen with a HOVER BOARD, but it could happen. If sales started lagging, it would be important for HUVr to consider finding new users for their product, changing characteristics of their product, and/or changing elements of the marketing mix. HUVr could consider maybe launching hover roller blades or something like that. They could also cut costs and try to market it to children, for instance. The maturity stage essentially decides whether a product will continue on or flop and not be heard from again.

Decline Stage of HUVr

Finally, the decline stage of the product life cycle is when consumers begin to turn away from your product due to different tastes, competition, or outdated technology, for example. Sales can and usually drop drastically in this stage. Companies in this stage either decide to drop a product, cut costs and push forward, or keep things as is. Keeping things as is can lead to significant losses if not repositioned well. The decline stage would face HUVr if they were unaware of the changing characteristics of their market. HUVr could attempt to reposition the brand by showing HUVr as being an awesome retro thing to have and do, for instance.

Understanding the intricacies of the product life cycle can lead a company out of a rapid downfall at times. The system cannot be completely mastered, though, as many products fail to reach the growth and maturity stages. If you are aware of where your product is in the PLC, it can be useful because it can tell you about the options that are available to you if your product is either flourishing or failing. Would you be able to make the HUVr board a star?